Thill-coupling



"(No Model.)

A. HUMMER. THILL COUPLING.

No. 492,293. Patented Feb. 21, 1893.

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NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANDREWV HUMMER, OF MARIA STEIN, OHIO.

THlLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 492,293, dated February21, 1893.

' Application filed November 4, 1892. Serial No. 450,932. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, ANDREW HUMMER, of Maria Stein, in the county ofMercer and State of Ohio, have invented a new and ImprovedThill-Goupling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to improvements in thill couplings such as areadapted to couple a pair of thills or a pole to the axle of a vehicle;and the object of my invention is to produce an extremely cheap andsimple coupling which may be applied to any vehicle, which isconstructed in such a way that the thills or pole maybe quickly andsecurely attached to the axle or as easily detached without the use ofany tools, which, however, prevents the accidental detachment of thethills or pole, and which is constructed in such a way that the thillsor pole may be easily turned up out of the way and securely fastened inplace, which is adapted to prevent all rattling and even without the useof either springs or rubber, and which may be adjusted so as to take upthe wear as fast as'it occurs, and which is very strong and durable.

To these ends my invention consists in a thill coupling, theconstruction of which will be hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the coupling on the line 1-1 inFig. 2; Fig. 2 is an end View of the coupling; and Fig. 3 is a brokendetail side elevation of the thill iron.

The coupling has the usual clip which is adapted to be fastened to theaxle 11 by the nuts 12 and cross bar 13, and the front side of the clipis thickened, as shown at 14, and extending forward from the oppositesides of this thickened portion are parallel arms 15 which support neartheir forward ends a transverse coupling pin or bolt 16 which is adaptedto secure the knuckle 17 of the thill iron '18 between the arms. Ifdesired the arms 15 may be bent upward to give the locking plate abetter chance to swing back. The thill iron 18 is like the usual iron,with the exception of its knuckle 17 which is of cylindrical shape, isadapted to fit reasonably close between the forward ends of the arms 15,and has on its upper side and opening from a little below its center alongitudinal slot 19, which forms the knuckle into a kind of hookadapted to engage the coupling pin or hook. It will be seen that thethill iron and consequently the thills or pole attached to it must beraised in order to bring the knuckle into engagement with the couplingpin, but when the thill iron is dropped into its normal position foruse, the slot 19 is caused to swing forward so that the drawing straincomes on the solid portion of the knuckle. The knuckle 17 is held inplace and prevented from rattling on the coupling pin by a curvedlocking plate 20, which is pivoted between the arms 15 immediatelybehind the knuckle, and the upper surface of the locking plate is shapedto [it nicely upon the knuckle, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. The lockingplate has a recess 21 in its under side which receives the upper end ofa thumb screw 23, and the thumb screw is held to turn in a swinging bail24: which is pivoted on the pin or bolt 16, the arms of the bail beingmade to embrace the arms 15, as shown in Fig. 2,and the lower centralportion 25 of the bail is reduced slightly so as to fit beneath thelooking plate 20. When the locking plate is in position beneath theknuckle, the screw 23 may be turned up so as to hold the plate close tothe knuckle and thus all rattling is prevented, but the knuckle maystill have the necessary freedom of movement. 13y tightening the screw alittle more, however, the locking plate may be bound so tightly upon theknuckle as to prevent the latter from being turned and consequently thethill or pole attached to the thill iron will be held in whateverposition it may happen to be. The screw is never tightened sufficientlyto bind the knuckle and prevent it from turning, except when the thillsor pole is to be held up out of the way.

When the vehicle is in use, the locking plate is tightened just enoughto make a firm bearing and prevent all rattling. When a thill or pole isto be attached the screw 23 is loosened so as to release the lockingplate 20 and the bail 24 and the locking plate swings downward andbackward, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1, while the bail 24 may beswung forward, as shown by dotted lines in the same figure. It is onlynecessary then in attaching the thill or pole to loosen the parts asmentioned, and then hook the knuckle 17 upon the coupling pin 16, afterwhich the locking plate 20 is tipped up beneath the knuckle, the bail 24swung beneath the locking plate and the screw 23 turned up so as to holdthe parts in position.

To remove the thills or pole the above operation is reversed. The screwis loosened, the locking plate tippedback, and the thills or pole raisedand pushed downward from off the coupling pin. It will be seen that ifthe screw 23 should by any possibility be lost out.

while the vehicle was in use, the thills or pole could not be detached,as the knuckle would drop down upon the bail 2t without being entirelydetached from the coupling pin.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. A thill coupling, comprising an axle clip havingforwardly extending arms, a transverse pin extending between the arms, athill iron having a slotted knuckle to fit upon the pin, a swinginglocking plate pivoted at its rear end behind the coupling pin andextending downwardly and forwardly beneath the knuckle, a bail supportedupon the said transverse pin and adapted to swing beneath the lockingplate, and 'a fastening device to secure the bail to the locking plateand the locking plate to the knuckle, substantially as described.

2. A thill coupling, comprising an axle clip having forwardly extendingarms, a coupling

